The UK’s largest electric vehicle charging hub has opened in Birmingham, marking a significant “boost” for Britain’s electric car charging network.
The new Gigahub, which is located at the city’s NEC Campus – is big enough to charge 180 cars simultaneously – making it the largest electric vehicle charging site in the UK.
The site, which has been developed collaboratively by the NEC, EV pulse and bp pulse, will provide 30 super-fast 300 kw DC charging bays and a further 150 7kW a/c charging bays – one of the largest amounts of super fast chargers in any one location in the UK.
The site received £8 million of funding from investment partner Zood Infrastructure in the hope that its positioning at the heart of the UK motorway network will help it to become a major transport hub.
“This is the biggest private investment the in electric charging in the UK and is a huge vote of confidence in Britain’s role as a leader in green industries,” said Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt.
“The ground-breaking site will be a major transport hub for the future and marks a significant step in our rollout of electric vehicle charging infrastructure across the country.”
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Decarbonisation minister Jesse Norman added: “Electric vehicles will play a crucial role in helping the UK to decarbonise transport and reach net zero.”
“Today’s measures will deliver tens of thousands of chargepoints across the country, boosting the economy and creating skilled jobs.”
The UK’s public charging network has more than tripled in four years, from 10,300 devices in January 2019 to over 45,500 in August 2023. Earlier this year the UK also got it’s first gigawatt factory, to be based in Somerset.
However, there is still concern around competition with China, which has led the way with the production of electric vehicles.